Barber to compete
NEW world champion Kelsey-Lee Barber is expected to compete at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games despite testing positive to Covid-19.
Barber, who won her second javelin throw world crown last week in Eugene, Oregon, tested positive at the Australian team camp in Tonbridge on Wednesday. She is asymptomatic with the women’s javelin final not until the final day of competition on the track on Sunday, August 7.
Barber’s diagnosis came as it was revealed athletes with Covid-19 would
able to compete in Birmingham after the health of any infected athlete had been delegated to doctors linked with each country’s team.
“Kelsey-Lee Barber is not out (of the Games),” Australia’s high-performance manager, Andrew Faichney, said. “We are just working through with CGA (Commonwealth Games Authority) what the requirements are for her being able to compete and there are some protocols as far as the Australian organising committee are concerned, but my understanding is she is not ruled out from competing at all.
“I have to reconfirm but I think the organising committee has said that if an athlete is well and healthy enough, then they are going to be able to compete and so that is what we are working through. But she has also got it early enough that she might be able to compete anyway.”
About 12 athletes every day have been found to have coronavirus when they have been tested upon arrival at the Games village.
While many of Australia’s athletics team were travelling to Birmingham from the team camp on Thursday, Barber will remain behind in isolation.
Barber’s setback came as it was confirmed Olympic bronze medalwinning decathlete Ash Moloney had withdrawn from the Games.
Moloney was forced to pull out midway through the decathlon at last week’s world championships because of a knee injury. He has already returned home to Brisbane with a decision on whether he requires surgery to be discussed in the coming weeks.
Moloney, 22, was seen as a strong gold medal chance after Canada’s Olympic champion Damian Warner was ruled out with injury.